In message <[log in to unmask]>, Automatic digest processor
<[log in to unmask]> (aka
>geoff carver
) writes
>       anyone up on the latest theories or definitions of "race"?
>        president assad of syria was quoted on CNN today as saying that israel
>was more racist than the nazis - which got me wondering: why are jews still
>talked of as being a race (last time i was in israel the israelis were a mix of
>russians, mediterranean/mid-eastern types, ethiopians, fair-haired western
>europeans, the odd indian or chinese, etc.) while no one to my knowledge (might
>be wrong) has ever talked about a "christian" or a "muslim" race -

I am _supposed_ to be getting myself up to date on the latest theories,
as part of my research, so I'd be interested in seeing the responses to
your question on other lists.

Two books which I've found of use in this area:
Donald, James and Ratansi, Ali, (1992) _'Race', Culture and Difference_,
The Open University.
Jones, Sian (1997) _The Archaeology of Ethnicity_ Routledge (there's a
circumflex over the I in Sian).

Donald and Rattansi's use of quotation marks is illuminating: it points
to the incredibly small part of genetic code, and that there is no good
case for 'ascribing common psychological, intellectual or moral
capacities' on the basis of that variation. Jones is one of the clearest
thing's I've read on ethnicity, and even she dodges with an 'and/or'
definition of ethnicity the potential for observing genetic inheritance
in material culture.
Terry Eagleton's _The Idea of Culture_ (2000, Blackwell Publishers Ltd)
had some interesting stuff in it  (culture being a nice liberal
alternative to 'race'), but I confess that I got so cross with the book
that I can't really judge it.
Donald and Rattansi are nearly ten years old - for various reasons the
provision of courses by the OU, and their reading lists would be a good
place to start checking the current literature.  I guess I'd better do
that ... if anyone else is interested in this area, I'll let you know
what I discover.

Best wishes to all,
--
Pat Reynolds
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   "It might look a bit messy now, but just you come back in 500 years time"
   (T. Pratchett)